On March 20, cinemas started showing the musical fantasy film «Snow White», which made a lot of noise even before its premiere. This is a film adaptation of the classic 1937 Disney cartoon «Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs», which, in turn, was based on the fairy tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm. The film has a lot of context around the film with a negative connotation, which we will definitely mention. But in this text, we will also try to focus on the artistic features of the resonant novelty. So let’s see if this rethinking of the world is really necessary.
Pluses:
the leading actresses are not particularly surprising, but they look harmonious and there is nothing to hate them for; in general, visually it looks, again, without revelations, but decent; the new generation may really need to modernize the old story;
Minuses:
there is no fairy-tale atmosphere and an adult viewer will definitely not care about the fate of the characters; there are too many musical numbers for subjective taste; in general, the film is indifferent;
«Snow White»
Genre musical fantasy
Director Mark Webb
Starring Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, Andrew Bernal, Ansu Kabia, Martin Klebba, Hadley Fraser, Lorena Andrea
Premiere movie theaters
Year of release 2025
Website IMDb, official website
There is probably no need to retell the well-known story of Snow White, the Seven Dwarfs and the Evil Queen. Nor is it necessary to emphasize the influence this work has had on culture and, in particular, modern pop culture — several adaptations, both live-action and animated, theatrical productions, numerous reinterpretations of the story in literary works, comics, etc. Even Rammstein interpreted the fairy tale in their own way in the video for the hit song Sonne.
The 1937 Disney animated film of the same name played a significant role in popularizing the Grimm brothers’ creation. It was the first full-length animation from the «mouse» studio, and it was not only extremely successful, but also marked a new milestone in the history of the golden age of American animation. Therefore, given Disney’s current policy, it was only a matter of time before the classic cartoon was remade as a feature film.
The film itself faced a powerful wave of hate long before its release. Online, users actively criticized the choice of Rachel Zegler, an actress with Latin American roots, to play the role of the white character. Many people did not like her statements about the original cartoon and the fact that certain aspects of its content were outdated.
The seven dwarfs, who were drawn on a computer instead of being played by real actors with dwarfism, also got it. The off-screen antagonism between Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, which concerned their opposing views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, also added fuel to the fire. And the icing on the cake was that the trailers for «Snow White» collected a lot of dislikes on YouTube.
After watching it, there is only one question — why is there so much hype about it? The newest «Snow White» — is average Disney content and nothing more. «Maleficent» with Angelina Jolie, which is hardly a standout, and even that looked like a more attractive fairy tale story. Even «The Little Mermaid» of 2023, which received its share of hate, seemed more alive.
The problem is that if we do take our dusty classics out of the bins, it’s not just for the sake of shifting the emphasis towards left-wing progressive trends, as trite as it may sound. For example, in 2025, no one will emphasize skin «white as snow», just as the main character will not immediately take up a broom as soon as she enters an abandoned dwarf dwelling. And certainly no one will sprinkle in sexist, perhaps even misogynistic remarks, as Grumpy did in the old cartoon.
But in addition to such nuances, the creators would like to put their hearts and souls into the project so that the story can claim a sincere audience response. Unfortunately, you can’t say that about «Snow White», because on the emotional and empathic levels, it leaves you completely indifferent. At least from the point of view of an adult.
If we operate with the fact that this is a fairy tale that is primarily intended for children, then the idea of the rethinking itself is somehow leveled. Young viewers clearly do not care about the color of the main character’s skin or who kisses her — archetypal «prince-savior» or maybe a simple guy from the people. Although, of course, this will have an impact on the subconscious perception of immature minds.
Regarding the thesis about the absurdity of envy wonder women With Gal Gadot’s appearance compared to the beauty of Rachel Zegler’s Snow White, who may not look as impressive to some, such criticisms are frankly a bit of a stretch.
First, everyone has their own standards of beauty. Secondly, it is one thing to appear in front of the viewer as a cartoon character with a silly hairstyle and a childish dress, and another to see Rachel’s photos on Instagram, which make you doubt the aesthetic tastes of haters. Although, again, all this is subjective and should not be fundamental in terms of assessing the quality of a movie. Thirdly, the local magic mirror suggests inner rather than outer beauty. «Your beauty is flawless, but cold as a sharp dagger. Snow White’s beauty comes from the heart and shines like a pure crystal», says the ominous theatrical mask in a confident, masculine voice.
That’s basically the whole reinterpretation — we danced vaguely, sang loudly, upgraded Snow White at our discretion, drew beautiful forest animals and not so beautiful dwarves on the computer, placed the necessary accents, and that was it. But somehow it didn’t work out so that the viewer really plunged into the magical atmosphere of the fairy tale.
The new «Snow White» does not directly deserve such a devastating reaction that you can roll your eyes with burning hatred rating on IMDb to the lowest possible level. But there is nothing good to say about the movie either. In fact, it evokes almost no emotions at all, so it hardly deserves the frantic attention it is getting.
